Nomenclature of

ship terms

aft terminal the aftmost point on a ship’s floodable length.

air draft the vertical distance from the waterline to
the highest point on the ship.
amidships a position midway between the aft
perpendicular (AP) and the forward
perpendicular (FP).
angle of list an angle of heel where G is transversely
offset from the ship’s centreline and
transverse GM is positive.
angle of loll an angle of heel where G is on the ship’s
centreline and transverse GM is zero.
angle of repose an angle created by a shift of grain.
apparent trim the difference between the drafts observed
at the for’d and aft draft marks.
appendage a small attachment to a main area or body.
assigned freeboard the ship’s freeboard, after corrections have
been made to the DfT Tabular Freeboard
value.
blockage factor area of ship’s midship section divided by
the cross-sectional area of a river or canal.
boot-topping the vertical distance between the lightdraft
and the SLWL.
bow height a vertical distance measured at the FP, from
the waterline to the uppermost deck
exposed to the weather.
bulk carriers workhorse vessels, built to carry such
cargoes as ore, coal, grain, sugar, etc. in large
quantities.
calibrated tank a tank giving volumes or weights at vertical
increments of say one centimetre in the
tank’s depth.
404 Ship Stability for Masters and Mates

cargo-passenger ship a vessel that carries cargo and up to 12

paying passengers.
Cb block coefficient: linking the volume of
displacement with LBP, breadth mld and
draft.
compressive stress stress that is forcing the fibres in the
material to be crushed together.
computer packages packages for estimating stability, trim, end
drafts, shear forces and bending moments
for a condition of loading.
confined channel a river or canal where there is a nearby
presence of banks.
continuous girder a girder that runs continuously from say
main transverse bulkhead to main
transverse bulkhead.
Cw waterplane area coefficient: linking the
waterplane area with the LBP and the ship’s
breadth mld.
deadweight the weight that a ship carries.
deck camber transverse curvature of a deck, measured
from deck height at centreline to deck height
at side, at amidships.
deck sheer longitudinal curvature of a deck, measured
vertically from amidships to the deck, at Aft
Perp or Forward Perp.
depth moulded measured from top of keel to underside
of uppermost continuous deck, at
amidships.
DfT Department for Transport.
displacement for all conditions of loading, it is the
lightweight plus any deadweight.
domain of ship mainly the area in which the pressure bulbs
exist on a moving vessel.
draft moulded distance from the waterline to the top of
keel, measured at amidships.
dwt abbreviation for deadweight, the weight
that a ship carries.
dynamical stability the area under a statical stability curve
multiplied by the ship’s displacement.
even keel a vessel with no trim: where the aft draft has
the same value as the forward draft.
factor of subdivision Fs the floodable length ordinates times Fs gives
the permissible length ordinates.
FB breadth of influence in open water conditions.
forward terminal the foremost most point on a ship’s
floodable length.
 Nomenclature of ship terms 405

free surface effects loss of stability caused by liquids in partially

filled tanks.
freeboard ratio freeboard to the margin line @
amidships/ship’s draft moulded.
general particulars LBP, Br. Mld, depth mld, Draft Mld,
Lightweight, Deadweight, Displacement,
Cb, Service Speed, etc.
grain cargo this covers wheat, maize, corn, oats, rye,
barley, seeds, rice, etc.
grain heeling moments transverse moments caused by the
transverse movement of grain in a
compartment.
heaving motion the vertical movement of a ship’s VCG.
hydrometer an instrument used to measure the density
of a liquid.
hydrostatic curves used for calculating the trim and stability
values for various conditions of loading.
hydrostatic table a tabular statement of values on hydrostatic
curves.
icing allowances must be considered when dealing with loss
of stability and change of trim.
IMO International Maritime Organisation.
inertia coefficient used for obtaining moments of inertias of
waterplanes.
interaction action and reaction of ships when they get
too close to one another or too close to a
river bank.
intercostal girder a girder that is non-continuous.
knot 1852 m per hour.
lightship draft draft of ship when ship is empty, with a
deadweight of zero.
lightweight empty ship, with boilers topped up to
working level.
LNG ships liquefied natural gas carrier with cargo
at ⫺161 degrees C.
LOA length overall, from the foremost part of the
bow to the aftermost part of the stern.
longitudinal running from bow to stern in a fore and aft
direction.
LPG ships liquefied petroleum gas carrier with cargo
at ⫺42 degrees C.
margin line a line that is 75 mm below the bulkhead
deck @ side.
MCA Marine Coastguard Agency
moment an area times a lever or a weight times a
lever.
406 Ship Stability for Masters and Mates

Murray’s method a method for estimating longitudinal

bending moments.
NA data ‘not available’ or ‘not applicable’.
NK data ‘not known’.
open water a stretch of water where there are no
adjacent river or canal banks.
P&S port and starboard.
Panamax vessel a vessel having a breadth mld of 32.26 m.
parametric rolling additional rolling of a ship, caused by
having a bluff stern in interacting with a
sharp streamlined bow form.
passenger liners vessels travelling between definite ports,
with timetabled departure and arrival dates.
passenger-cargo ship a vessel that carries cargo and more than 12
paying passengers.
permeability the amount of water that can enter a bilged
compartment, usually expressed as a
percentage.
pitching motion vertical see-saw movement of a ship at the
bow and at the stern.
Plimsoll disc centre of this disc is in line with the SLWL
and its centre is spot on amidships.
port left side of a ship when looking forward.
pressure bulbs bulbs of pressure that build up around a
moving vessel and disappear when vessel
stops.
retrofit a structure later added or deducted after the
delivery of the ship to the shipowner.
righting lever a lever that will bring a stable ship back to
the upright after being displaced by
temporary external forces.
righting moment a moment that will bring a stable ship back
to the upright.
rolling motion a ship roll from extreme port to extreme
starboard and back again to extreme port.
RO-RO ships roll-roll vessels that carry cars/lorries and
passengers.
shallow water where the depth of water reduces the ship
speed and prop revs, increases squat,
reduces rolling motions, etc.
sheer ratio deck sheer forward or aft/ship’s draft
moulded.
shifting boards used to prevent a transverse shift of grain.
ship surgery lengthening, deepening or widening a ship
after cutting her transversely, along or
longitudinally.
 Nomenclature of ship terms 407

Simpson’s Rules used for calculating areas, moments, volumes

and inertias, without needing to use calculus.
SLWL summer load waterline similar to
draft moulded, in a density of water of
1.025 t/cu. m.
sounding a vertical distance measured from the
bottom of a tank to the surface of a liquid in
the tank.
sounding pad a steel pad at the base of a sounding pipe.
sounding pipe a pipe of about 37.5 mm that can be used for
taking soundings with a steel sounding
tape.
sounding tube/glass a vertical tube used for reading calibrated
values of a liquid in a tank.
SQA Scottish Qualifications Authority.
squat loss of underkeel clearance as a ship moves
forward from rest.
St Lawrence Seaway max where the ship’s breadth mld is 23.8 m.
Starboard right side of a ship when looking forward.
stiff ship a vessel with a quick rapid rolling period.
stowage factor volume per unit weight for a grain cargo.
stringer plate the line of deck plates nearest to the
shearstrake or gunwhale plating.
Summer freeboard the minimum freeboard for a ship floating
in water with a density of salt water of
1.025 t/cu. m.
supertanker similar to a VLCC: having a dwt of 100 000 t
to 300 000 t.
synchronous rolling the roll of the ship being in phase with the
action of the waves.
tabular freeboard minimum Summer freeboard for a DfT
standard ship.
tender ship a vessel with a long slow lazy rolling period.
tensile stress stress that is forcing the fibres in the
material to be pulled apart.
timber loadlines marked on ships that carry timber on the
main deck.
tonne equivalent to 1000 kg.
transverse running from port to starboard across the
ship.
transverse squat squat at the bilge plating, caused by ships
overtaking or passing in a river.
trim the difference between the forward draft
and the aft draft.
true trim the difference between the drafts at for’d
perpendicular and after perpendicular.
408 Ship Stability for Masters and Mates

Type ‘A’ ship a ship that carries liquid in bulk.

Type ‘B’ ship a ship other than Type ‘A’ ship.
ukc underkeel clearance, being depth of water
minus a ship’s draft.
ULCC ultra large crude carrier, say over 300 000 t dwt.
ullage vertical distance from surface of a liquid in
the tank to top of the sounding pipe or top
of ullage plug.
VLCC very large crude carrier, say 100 000 t to
300 000 t dwt.
wind heel moments moments caused by the wind on side of the
ship causing ship to have angle of heel.
Young’s modulus the value obtained by stress/strain.